Kalia dubs Captain’s no to Badals’ call for joint action as unfortunate

REACTION Flays CM for calling Sukhbir’s offer ‘political gimmick’, saying all foreign counties work together on such issues

JALANDHAR: A day after Punjab chief minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh rejected Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal’s call for de-politicising the drugs and sacrilege issue calling it a “political gimmick”, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former minister Manoranjan Kalia termed it “unfortunate”.

“If Sukhbir Badal’s offer for tackling the menace of drugs is a political gimmick, what would you call it when Captain Amarinder took the oath of Gutka Sahib for eradicating the drug menace from the state in four weeks after coming to power, but failed to do?” Kalia said in a statement issued on Sunday.

Kalia said all foreign countries cooperate with each other in tackling the menace of drugs and terrorism while CM Captain Amarinder has outrightly rejected the proposal of cooperation.

Lashing out at the leader of the opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Kalia said it was not understandable why Khaira was opposing dope test, which is the cleansing process in the administration and is just like the process of frisking which is adapted for security purposes.

“As far as tackling the policedrug mafia nexus is concerned, it cannot be mixed with dope testing and has to be dealt separately and sternly. Dope test, in fact, is the first step to tackle the policedrug mafia nexus,” he said.

If Sukhbir’s offer is a political gimmick, what would you call it when Capt took an oath with gutka to end drug menace in four weeks after coming to power, but failed to do it? MANORANJAN KALIA, BJP leader